Never mind what dry-aged/Kobe beef snobs might tell you. Hamburger steak is not an oxymoron. Like the librarian who lets her hair down for a night of dancing, a hamburger liberated from the bun and its processed condiments can be seen in an entirely new light.

The New Orleans style is to serve a sizable portion of ground meat smothered in onion gravy. Joey K's follows that script and ups the comfort food quotient with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans that evoke a simpler, bygone era, one in which moms put vegetables on the table by reaching into the cupboard. The steak itself is crusted, cooked to order and beefy. The description could apply to a ribeye I recently enjoyed at a high-end steakhouse -- where you'd be hard-pressed to find a glass of wine under nine bucks, much less an entree.